Runoff sensitivity to snow depletion curve representation within a continental scale hydrologic model

Sexstone, G. A.; Driscoll, Jessica M.; Hay, Lauren; Hammond, John C.; Barnhart, T. B.

doi:10.1002/hyp.13735

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 109 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…SP was determined as the fraction of the MODIS 8‐Day images with snow present from January 1 to July 3, a period that 'brackets the extent of peak snow accumulation to complete snow ablation in most parts of the western United States' (Moore et al, 2015). We did not use any fractional snow‐covered area products (fSCA) because SP integrates snow cover over space (watershed area) and time; at these aggregated scales, previous analyses successfully related the MODIS 8‐day binary maximum snow‐covered extent to streamflow responses (Eurich et al, 2021; Hammond et al, 2018; Sexstone et al, 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the hydrological difference between catchments above and below the intermittent‐persistent snow transition

Harrison

Hammond

Kampf

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Because of the importance of snow for river discharge in mountain regions, hydrological research often focuses on seasonally snow-covered zones. However, in many basins the majority of the land surface area is intermittently snow-covered. Discharge monitoring in these areas is less common, so their contributions to downstream rivers remain largely unknown. We evaluated hydrological differences between three intermittently snow-covered (mean annual Jan 1-Jul 3 snow persistence <60%) and two seasonally snow-covered headwater catchments in the Colorado Front Range. We compared water balance variables to evaluate how and why discharge differs between the snow zones and estimated the relative contributions from each snow zone to regional river discharge. We focused on water years 2016-2019 and used a combination of in situ sensors and regional climate datasets. Annual discharge from the intermittent snow zone was low for all three catchments (10-77 mm), despite covering a wide range in annual snow persistence (25%-64%), whereas annual dis-

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the hydrological difference between catchments above and below the intermittent‐persistent snow transition

Harrison

Hammond

Kampf

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, previous work, primarily focused on non-forested areas (Brauchli et al, 2017;Luce et al, 1998;Sexstone et al, 2020;Seyfried & Wilcox, 1995), has shown that improved representation of snow heterogeneity increases modelled late-season streamflow. However, previous studies have not documented how a finer-scale representation of forest-snow interactions impacts basin-scale streamflow and whether that impact varies across regions with different climates and different forest cover.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, prior studies have shown that at coarser spatial scales, models that use bulk canopy metrics and do not account for subgrid snow cover have a different net energy balance and snow melt rate than those at very high resolution (e.g., 1 m; Broxton et al, 2015; Mazzotti et al, 2020, 2021). Furthermore, previous work, primarily focused on non‐forested areas (Brauchli et al, 2017; Luce et al, 1998; Lundquist et al, 2005; Lundquist & Dettinger, 2005; Sexstone et al, 2020; Seyfried & Wilcox, 1995), has shown that improved representation of snow heterogeneity increases modelled late‐season streamflow. However, previous studies have not documented how a finer‐scale representation of forest‐snow interactions impacts basin‐scale streamflow and whether that impact varies across regions with different climates and different forest cover.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of forest‐controlled snow variability on late‐season streamflow varies by climatic region and forest structure

Currier

Sun

Wigmosta

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous studies have documented how forests influence snow at fine spatial scales, but none have documented the influence that existing forest‐snow variability has on streamflow. To test how much forest‐controlled snow variability influences streamflow, a tiling parameterization based on classifications from high‐resolution (1–3 m) vegetation maps was incorporated into the Distributed Hydrology and Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM). Within each grid cell (90–150 m), the tiling parameterization simulated forest‐snow variability with four independently evolving snowpacks. Each tile had unique radiation conditions to represent conditions underneath the canopy, in exposed areas, and along north‐ and south‐facing forest edges. This tiled parameterization was used to test where and when detailed forest‐snow modelling should be considered further and where and when the impacts are too small to be worth the effort. To test this, tiled model simulations of streamflow were compared to non‐tiled model simulations in the Sierra Nevada, CA, the Jemez Mountains, NM, and the Eastern Cascades, WA. In Tuolumne, CA, the tiled model simulated little difference in grid cell average SWE, and late‐season streamflow decreased by only 3%–4% compared to the non‐tiled model. In Jemez, NM, the tiled model decreased late‐season streamflow by 18% due to increased sublimation. In Chiwawa, WA, the tiled model increased late‐season streamflow by 15% due to high shortwave radiation attenuation and less longwave radiation enhancement from the forest. Furthermore, within the Chiwawa, a substantial silvicultural practice was synthetically implemented to increase the north‐facing edge's fractional area. This silvicultural experiment, which used the same fractional forest area in all simulations increased late‐season streamflow by 35% compared to tiled model simulations that did not represent forest edges. In conclusion, representing forest‐SWE variability had an effect on late‐season streamflow in some watersheds but not in others based on the fractional area of the forest edges, forest characteristics, and climate conditions.

show abstract

“…The low-to-no snow percentile-based definition is chosen based partly on the success of the Western US Drought Monitor's ability to highlight impactful water stress in the landscape (Svoboda et al, 2002;Huning & AghaKouchak, 2020b) and, more specifically, based on recent research which shows that runoff is reduced and consistently more constrained in portions of the western US when peak SWE approaches conditions of low-to-no snow (Sexstone et al, 2020;Hatchett et al, 2021).…”

Section: Mountain Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asymmetric Emergence of Low-to-No Snow in the American Cordillera

Rhoades¹,

Hatchett²,

Risser³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Societies and ecosystems within and downstream of mountains rely on seasonal snowmelt to satisfy their water demands. Anthropogenic climate change has reduced mountain snowpacks worldwide, altering snowmelt magnitude and timing. Here, the global warming level leading to widespread and persistent mountain snowpack decline, termed low-to-no snow, is estimated for the world's most latitudinally contiguous mountain range, the American Cordillera. We show a combination of dynamical, thermodynamical, and hypsometric factors results in an asymmetric emergence of low-to-no snow conditions within the midlatitudes of the American Cordillera. Low-to-no snow emergence occurs approximately 20 years earlier in the Southern Hemisphere, at a third of the local warming level, and coincides with runoff efficiency declines in both dry and wet years. Prevention of a low-to-no snow future in either hemisphere requires the level of global warming to be held to, at most, +2.5 °C.

show abstract

Runoff sensitivity to snow depletion curve representation within a continental scale hydrologic model

Cited by 16 publications

References 109 publications

On the hydrological difference between catchments above and below the intermittent‐persistent snow transition

On the hydrological difference between catchments above and below the intermittent‐persistent snow transition

The impact of forest‐controlled snow variability on late‐season streamflow varies by climatic region and forest structure

Asymmetric Emergence of Low-to-No Snow in the American Cordillera

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About